The Dying Princess
by EddieDean
Summary: The king's magician is the source of a recent tragedy, but no one seems to know except His Majesty's only child. Princess Zelda sends a message for help to a young Hylian man. But the late king's wizard, Ganondorf, learns of the message, and deals with the princess himself. Our hero must find a cure for the poisoned Zelda, or nothing will stop Ganondorf from taking the throne!
1. Kakariko Village

The mother held her children close, huddling in the corner of their cottage. Outside, the ReDead were gathering around the windows and door. Then there was a commotion. The ReDead near the window by the door turned, and with a glint of steel, its head came off. After a few minutes of what sounded like a blade cutting through meat, there was silence, then the door's bolt jiggled. The mother signaled for her children to stay put, and went to the door, opening it to a blond man in green, wielding a stained sword and shield.

She said, "Thank you."

He said nothing, but motioned for her to stay inside. She nodded and closed the door, locking it again.

* * *

The hero entered the graveyard, where he thought the source of the ReDead resided. He looked through the window of the gravedigger's hut, and gave a silent prayer as he saw the mess.

The swordsman walked along the graves, careful not to step on those that still had bodies, as well as not to step into the ones missing corpses. Though it seemed the filled ones would be empty soon, as well.

Just as he was passing it, a hand came out of the grave on his left, and grabbed his leg. It was bad luck for the hand, however, as that was his favored side. His sword came down, and the amputated limb pulled away.

The hand stayed on his calf.

He sheathed his blade, reached down, and with some effort, pulled the hand free. The latching-on was just a reflex, he knew that, but he hated having to touch the rotting flesh at all. Still, it was possible the hand could come in use. He put it in his purse, drew his blade again, and looked at the grave from which the hand had come. It seemed the amputation had scared the thing buried there, which was good. Better it revert back to a corpse underground than above. Considering he'd be able to reverse everything, of course.

He sheathed his sword again, looked up past the rows of headstones, and saw what looked like a cavern. That was most likely where he needed to go, so he started for it.

* * *

When he had looked through the gravedigger's window, it wasn't blood the hero had seen, but a mess of papers-papers which had arcane symbols and writings.

There was blood here, however: the gravedigger had sacrificed a cucco (which didn't seem much of a loss; Kakariko was lousy with them) and was now praying to a dark god. The hero started to creep toward the gravedigger, but before he could ready himself for a tackle, the gravedigger turned and waved a hand at the hero, who was tossed back by an unseen force. He hit the cave wall, and was dazed for a second or two, but then he shook his head and stood, drawing his Master Sword and Hylian Shield.

As the gravedigger sent another spell at him, the hero brought up his shield, which deflected the magic. The magician was stunned, and the hero took no chances-he started to charge.

At the last second, the gravedigger began another curse, but the hero silenced him, putting his sword to the magician's throat.

The gravedigger was "persuaded" to reverse the town's torment.

* * *

There was a feast later in the night, in celebration of the hero's victory. At the same time, however, something had to be done about the corpses. The mayor asked the swordsman his opinion, and the bodies were re-buried.

At the feast, the hero sat in the mayor's chair, with the mayor himself at his side. The citizens ate what seemed to be all roasted farm animals: pig, cucco, and beef. The only thing missing was horsemeat.

That made him think of his own horse, waiting near the village gates. When the mayor was told about her, he ordered a feed bag be made for her. With that done, he turned to the hero, saying, "Once more, on behalf of the town and its folk, I thank you, sir. There is no reward large enough, save for my daughter's hand. I know she would find you very becoming."

The hero shook his head, and from his purse, he brought out a thick sheet of paper. He showed it to the mayor, who gave a gasp while reading it. He looked at the hero and said, "The princess?" And when the hero nodded, he said, "Do you know about her condition?"

The hero shook his head again, giving a look that said, "What condition?"

The mayor shook his head this time, saying, "It's probably best you don't hear it from me. You should get some rest. If you're heading for the castle, you have quite a ride ahead of you."

* * *

The next morning, outside the town gates, a large group of the citizens, and the mayor, saw the hero off. Before he left, the mayor had told him, "Let's hope that the next time you come, it will be under better circumstances."

The hero named Link had smiled, saying "Yes, let's," and then had climbed onto his horse, which was named Epona, and had set off across Hyrule Field for the castle.


	2. Hyrule Castle Town & In the Castle Walls

After a few hours of riding, the castle was in sight. He turned Epona straight toward it, and soon arrived at the drawbridge, which was closed.

He pulled up to one of the guards stationed on the field side of the moat and said, "Lower the bridge. I have to see the princess."

The guard looked at his companion, then back at Link, saying, "If we lowered the bridge for everyone who said that, we'd never need to raise it. Plus, there's no telling how many times the town would be ransacked."

The hero reached into his purse, and again brought out the paper with the Royal Seal. He showed it to the guard, who seemed to go white. The guard said, "Beg pardon, sir. You have to understand, though, that we can't let anyone in when they like. As I said, some people are distrustful, no matter how they look."

He turned around and shouted up to the bridge operators to lower it. When it was done, Link walked Epona across, then got off of her when they entered the Castle Town.

* * *

The farrier was a bald, muscular man, with a mustache reaching just past his lips. Link handed Epona's reins to the farrier, telling him that she needed feeding, new shoes, and a good brushing. Link then handed over a handful of gems equaling up to eighty rupees. The farrier took them all, though it was more than the actual price, and promised all would be done by the time the hero returned.

Link went back to the street, and started for the castle.

* * *

At the gates were two more guards, though these were more burly than the ones Link had met on the field. He told them his reason for arriving, showing the Royal Seal again, and they started to lead him toward the castle.

Halfway down the path, they were attacked.

To be more specific, the guards were attacked. A woman came down from a tree the trio were passing, and with two blows each, incapacitated the guards. Link started to attack the woman, but she stopped him, saying, "The princess sends me."

Link stepped back. The woman, who introduced herself as Impa, said that she attacked the guards because they were decoys. She said, "Ganondorf, the Royal Wizard, sent the real guards to... I don't know exactly where, but I feel it is a terrible place. He then recruited bandits and criminals who feel he will better the land for them."

She looked down the path, and Link saw more "guards" heading their way. Impa motioned for him to come close, and with the flash of a Deku Nut, they were yards off the path, and in the shadows. She crouched, made him do the same, and they watched the latter group of bandits approach the knocked-out duo. Impa said in a soft voice, "Even with their black hearts, I pray that if Ganondorf tells them his actual plans, he will make their deaths quick."

Link said, "The guards Field-side?"

Impa shook her head, saying, "He wouldn't bother with them. Just those close to the castle. Now come. The princess waits for us."

* * *

With Impa's help, Link climbed into the princess's bedchambers through the window. When he saw Her Majesty in her bed, he understood what the Kakariko mayor had meant by "condition."

To start, the princess was pale, almost as white as her sheets. The bangs of her blonde hair was matted to her forehead with sweat. Her breathing seemed very shallow. But the worst of it was how thin she seemed.

Impa said in a soft voice, "Ganondorf did this. Now, whatever I feed her, her body rejects."

Link approached the princess, who turned her head to him and smiled, saying, "You've come." Talking seemed an effort for her.

He knelt by her, taking her hot, bony hand, and said, "I apologize for being late. There was trouble in a village, and... Well..."

She smiled more, saying, "A hero's work, never done."

He nodded and asked when this had happened.

Impa, who had come over and was now standing by Link, said, "Soon after the message was sent. Either one of the bandit-guards had listened in on one of our conversations, or there is a spy in our group."

Link turned his head up to her, asking what she meant.

She said, "It is not just the princess and I who are unchanged. Ganondorf left alone many of the staff, whom he sees as unworthy. With them, we created a small rebellion. But it could be that we will grow with the help of the Castle Town citizens."

Link turned back to the princess, who had fallen asleep. He stood, and turned his whole body to Impa, saying, "What can I do to help her?"

Impa smiled and walked over to the wardrobe in the corner, taking something from it, then approached Link again with a sheet of paper, rolled up. She said, "I assume you know the layout of the Field. At Lake Hylia, there resides a witch. Give this to her. She knows my writing, so there is no need to say who it's from, but if she asks why she should do what is demanded, say that it will make us even." She put the roll into his bag, and took the princess's letter, saying, "You won't need this anymore."

She helped him on to the lattice outside the window, and when he was on the ground, there was another Deku Nut flash, and he was in an alley in Castle Town.

* * *

The farrier was more than happy to see Epona off. According to him, she had bitten his buttock.

Link said, "She wouldn't bite unless there was reason. What did you do?"

The farrier's color drained, and he said, "I did nothing! She's just dissatisfied with good service."

Link gave him a look, then clicked his tongue at Epona. She turned to her flank, and he saw a hand-sized spot that seemed thinner with hair. He pointed this out to the farrier, who said, "All right, I probably got a bit rough with the brushing, but she's got tangles. When was the last time you brushed her?"

Link said, "We had been riding to see the princess, and it was urgent. And since I am dissatisfied with your service, I will be taking a quarter of the payment back."

The farrier was stunned. He repeated what Link had said.

The hero offered to make it half.

The farrier conceded back to a quarter, and gave Link twenty rupees' worth of gems.

Link escorted Epona on to the street, where a small crowd had gathered to watch the argument. He told them to go back to their business, the commotion was done. He led Epona back to the Field.


End file.
